Oswego High teacher arrested for alleged 'intimate' relationship with student

Erin Place

Thursday

Mar 27, 2008 at 12:01 AMMar 27, 2008 at 12:31 AM

Superintendent of Oswego schools David Fischer held a press conference Wednesday afternoon to answer questions about a recently arrested high school Spanish teacher who allegedly had an inappropriate intimate relationship with one of her students.

Superintendent of Oswego schools David Fischer held a press conference Wednesday afternoon to answer questions about a recently arrested high school Spanish teacher who allegedly had an inappropriate intimate relationship with one of her students.

Jennifer K. Dempsey, 28, of Fulton, was arrested Tuesday for endangering the welfare of a child, a class-A misdemeanor. According to Oswego County Sheriff reports, Dempsey is accused of having “an ongoing and continuous course of conduct in which she allegedly fostered and engaged in an inappropriate intimate relationship with a 16-year-old male student.”

Fischer said he placed Dempsey on administrative leave with pay on Wednesday as soon as he discovered the charges filed against the Spanish teacher. “I anticipate the leave will continue until it is determined if any formal discipline will be imposed,” Fischer said. “We will review these allegations very carefully and conduct a thorough investigation.”

This is not the first time Dempsey was reprimanded for her interactions with students. On Feb. 11 she was placed on administrative leave with pay for what Fischer describes as “inappropriate communication through e-mail (and) written communication” with students. “It was not acceptable for a professional,” the superintendent said. Dempsey remained on administrative leave for roughly a month before resuming her teaching duties at the high school.

According to Fischer, the inappropriate communication was first brought to the district’s attention by parents who expressed their concerns to one of the high school principals. He stated that he interviewed three or four students along with their parents when conducting the initial investigation into Dempsey’s behavior. “I believe at least one of the students were in her class,” Fischer said.

As a result of the district’s original investigation, Dempsey entered an agreement about her advisement of students with the district and Fischer said that a letter had been placed in her file and that she had received “a loss of compensation.” Dempsey was an advisor for the school’s cheerleading squad and was involved in other clubs.

The superintendent said that new information is surfacing that was previously not available concerning Dempsey and her behavior around students, including information “regarding intimacy in a relationship.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Fischer had not spoken with Dempsey nor the Oswego County Sheriff’s Department. “I do think it is important we conduct a thorough investigation along with the police to make sure these allegations are real,” he said.

Fischer noted that in light of the recent allegations, students are the district’s highest priority. “We are concerned about the safety of our students,” Fischer said. He stated that his message to students is to tell an adult if they are approached by anyone in any sort of inappropriate manner so the incident can be investigated. The message the superintendent sent to his staff was, “For all of our employees, we want to enforce that there are certain professional boundaries between students and staff.”

Tuesday is the next board of education meeting during which Dempsey and the charge brought against her will be discussed. “It is up to the board of education to review what action we need to take,” Fischer said. After her arrest, Dempsey was released on an appearance ticket and is slated to appear in Oswego City Court April 3.